Sleep Basics at NIH

"Many things--such as loving, going to sleep, or behaving unaffectedly--are done worst when we try hardest to do them."
- C.S. Lewis


http://www.ninds.nih.gov/disorders/brain_basics/understanding_sleep.htm

ESSENTIAL READING FOR ANYONE WHO LONGS FOR A GOOD NIGHTS SLEEP http://www.fourhourworkweek.com/blog/2008/01/27/relax-like-a-pro-5-steps-to-hacking-yo

"From fat-loss (leptin release decreases with sleep debt) to memory consolidation,
sleep is the currency of high-performance living." - Tim Ferriss

Read the Article "Relax Like A Pro: 5 Steps to Hacking Your Sleep" by Tim Ferriss

http://www.fourhourworkweek.com/blog/2008/01/27/relax-like-a-pro-5-steps-to-hacking-your-sleep/

Tim Ferriss is the author of a fascinating book called The Four Hour Work Week. He also has a great blog. I follow the 80/20 principle with a lot of Tim Ferriss' ideas. He can be very inspiring but I choose to pass on a lot of the suggestions made on his website or in his book. However, some of them have had a profound effect on my quality of life. This link is for a fantastic article detailing five steps to improve your sleep.

In summary:

1. Consume 150-250 calories of low-glycemic index foods in small quantities (low glycemic load) prior to bed. A snack such as celery and nut butter or plain yogurt and fruit would work well. Some sleep problems (and discomfort upon arising) occur when your blood sugar is too low.
2. Use ice baths to provoke sleep. (I skip this one. BRRRRR!!!!)
   
3. Eating your meals at set times can be as important as sleeping on a schedule. (Spoiler alert! This will be the topic of next weeks tweak.)
   
4. Embrace 20-minute caffeine naps and ultradian multiples. This can be useful if you need a short nap. The caffeine kicks in when it's time to wake up. I have found that when I'm really tired a short nap helps me sleep better at night.
   
5. Turn off preoccupation with afternoon closure and present-state training. Make tomorrow's to-do list in the afternoon, so it won't be cluttering your mind when it's time to go to bed. Avoid mentally stimulating things prior to bedtime.
   

Don Quixote understands the value of sleep!

Now, blessings light on him that first invented sleep!
It covers a man all over, thoughts and all, like a cloak;
it is meat for the hungry, drink for the thirsty,
heat for the cold, and cold for the hot.
It is the current coin that purchases all the pleasures of the world cheap,
and the balance that sets the king and the shepherd,
the fool and the wise man, even.
-Miguel de Cervantes, Don Quixote, 1605

Tweak #1 - Go to bed at the same time every night.

THIS WEEKS TWEAK:

Tweak #1: Choose a bedtime that you can stick to (almost) every night. This includes weekends!

I stayed up VERY late last night. I guess it was a last hurrah before making a commitment. I'm a night owl and going to bed is hard for me, especially since my husband is currently working the night shift. I tried keeping the same schedule as him but someone needs to be awake for phone calls and the UPS guy. And as most humans, I feel better sleeping at night rather than all day.

I usually live a tweak for at least a week before posting it here, and I really felt the benefits of this tweak after just a few days. As you recall from last week, I believe in the 80/20 rule. Cut yourself some slack twenty percent of the time. I enjoy having a day of rest where I don't worry about anything and just do as I please.

WHAT WORKS FOR ME

My chosen bedtime is 1:00 a.m. Why? Because my husband calls me on his work break at around 12:30. It makes his work night better and it makes my sleep more peaceful. I tried going to bed earlier but we missed our nightly chat. 1:00 a.m. also works well for me because it gives us a few more hours to enjoy each others' company on his nights off. When we move to our dream home in the northwestern part of the country, I can go to bed at the time my body is used to but the clock will be two or three hours earlier. Hooray!

My bedtime also helps me fall asleep in time for adults' strongest sleep drive, as mentioned on this Sleep Foundation page:

The circadian rhythm dips and rises at different times of the day, so adults' strongest sleep drive generally occurs between 2:00-4:00 am and in the afternoon between 1:00-3:00 pm, although there is some variation depending on whether you are a “morning person” or “evening person.”
http://www.sleepfoundation.org/article/sleep-topics/sleep-drive-and-your-body-clock

Coincidentally, 1:00 pm is the best time for my husband's bedtime. I plan on taking a siesta nap with him when he goes to bed and he often takes a little nap with me at my bedtime on his day off.

While doing research for this tweak I came across an interesting post about sharing bedtime rituals with your partner when you don't sleep at the same time:

The sweetest thing is that Alex always "puts me to bed." He'll wait until I brush my teeth and put on my PJs, and then he'll come into the bedroom and tell me stories and rub my back, and we'll talk sleepily and say lots of "I love you"s. It's one of my favorite parts of the day.
http://www.glamour.com/sex-love-life/blogs/smitten/2009/03/do-you-and-your-man-go-to-bed.html

I found this interesting because my husband and I occasionally tuck each other in at bedtime. I love it! We all have to find personal ways to make our situation better.

Keep watching for sleep tips including information about bedtime snacks, dimming lights, bedtime rituals, etc.

Sweet dreams!

Next weeks tweak: GO TO BED!

“Any kid will run any errand for you, if you ask at bedtime.”
-Red Skelton

Were you a kid like that? Are you still a kid like that? I'm afraid I am. I can think dozens of reasons why it would be easy to stay up late. You don't believe me? Here are half a dozen off the top of my head, written in sixty seconds or less.

1. This book is SOOOOO good.
2. I want to see how this movie ends.
   
3. Hubby (who works the night shift) is home tonight and I want to stay up and have fun with him.
   
4. I slept in this morning and I'm not tired now.
5. I had a really long nap this afternoon and I'm not tired now.
   
6. And the one that always gets me - The dishes aren't done.
   

Give me another minute and I could come up with many more!

There is ALWAYS a reason to stay up late, at least for me. But how much better is your entire day when you get a good nights sleep the night before? Doesn't it feel wonderful to wake up NATURALLY before your obnoxious alarm goes off?

I picked this as my first tweak because I thought it would be easy (it wasn't) and because I felt like it would be a great foundation for getting a lot of other things done. Hopefully some day it will come easier for me. In the meantime, I'm being gentle with myself and doing the best that I can. This week I'll share a few of suggestions for achieving this tweak and a few of the many reasons why it's so important.

For now,

PICK A BEDTIME THAT YOU CAN STICK TO EVERY DAY AND GO TO BED.

Begin at the beginning.

“If you have made mistakes, there is always another chance for you.
You may have a fresh start any moment you choose,
for this thing we call 'failure' is not the falling down, but the staying down.”
- Mary Pickford

Ah the first day of the month. It's a fresh start! What better time to start our one hundred tweaks.

My favorite definition of tweak is usually the last one listed in the Merriam-Webster dictionary, lost behind the more aggressive or offensive definitions: "to make small adjustments"

Life can be rough. Exhausting. There is always something new and important that we should be doing. I want to be part of a kinder, gentler world, where positivity reigns.

Starting now, I'm going to make 100 little upgrades in my life that will increase my HAPPINESS, HEALTH, WISDOM AND WEALTH. About one a week. Tiny little tweaks that will make big differences. If you follow the 80/20 rule, think of it as things that require just 20% of the effort but provide 80% of the results. On that same note, forgive yourself if you're accomplishing your tweak only 80% of the time. If you're hanging in there five or six days a week, you're on a roll! Give yourself a hug for a job well done! If you fall short one day, give yourself a hug and know that tomorrow is a clean slate.

Let's get started!

Crossing the Line

This post is temporarily removed in order to keep it private. Isn't the suspense just killing you???